Father's Scorn, Mother's Regret
by Droiture LeReve
Summary: Tallest Red goes insane with hatred and rage, trying to assassinate Zim at every turn. Purple can no longer stand the abuse and flees to Earth, where Zim and Dib agree to Purple's plea. They will take down the Massive, but can they do it in time?
1. Chapter 1

Note: I'm writing this on absolutely no sleep, because my cell phone decided that the perfect time to blare my annoying ringtone for when I get a text message is JUST as I'm trying to take a nap while I'm sick. So, in the absence of sleep, I am writing fanfiction. I got quite a nice and eloquent review on my last one, and I hope to get the same kind of polite response to this one. Warning you now, I'm sick, so I won't take any crap. If you flame or generally sound like a retarded a-hole when you comment, I will simply remove the review in question and not even bother answering it. This is a dark fic, and I expect it to be read as such. Be literate in your reviews. I don't even care if you use proper capitalization or punctuation. Just no... _effing... __**1337 speak, **_under-effin'-stand?

I know this is a tired overused cliche of a plot. Don't remind me.

In this fic, Purple is a female only because I needed him to be one. I normally don't gender-bend canon characters but Irkens don't have genders anyway, so whatever. Please don't hate me, it needed to be done.

I don't own Invader Zim, that lucky sun'bish Jhonen Vasquez does. That evil, delicious genius... *ahem*...

**Father's Scorn, Mother's Regret**

Zim gaped in broken shock at the viewscreen in front of him, his crimson eyes a dull shade of garnet in his confusion. His antennae drooped back low.

"My Tallest... what... what are you-"

"_Stop calling us that, Zim. We're not __**your **__Tallest anymore. We told you. You're nothing to us. Stop calling us. You're a deluded, poorly-trained, unintelligent buffoon and there is nothing we would have liked more than to vaporize you as soon as you fucked up Impeding Doom I. Unfortunately, you and I both know why we couldn't do that. Do you understand, Zim? Do you?"_

"I... hm. He he he... hahahaha..."

_"Zim? What the hell are you laughing about?" _

"Hahahahaha... hahaha..." Zim laughed maniacally, grabbing an object off the table next to him. "Ah. Yes. Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew it would come to this, sir." Zim said darkly, his head tilted down in a sinister bow, giving the glint from his crimson eyes a dangerous sheen, contrasting with the shadows of his green skin. He'd grown a bit over his years on Earth, and his gangly thin body somehow gave him a dangerous, bony complexion. "Though I don't understand... why now? Why tell me now? Why not tell me back then?"

_"You were too headstrong then. You'd already quit being banished once, who was to say what you'd do a second time? You're defective, Zim. A dangerous and unpredictable defective. You're a failure."_

"I hear those words so often, sir. Though they are usually never directed at me. Fathers here... in this post-apocolyptic wasteland of a world... they drink, they hit, and more than once I've sheltered one or two poor broken souls from the rain. I never knew why until now. It just seemed right at the time."

Zim stood up straight, arching his spine to show off his near-Tallest height as a show of rebellion. He was still shorter than his Tallest by at least a foot, maybe a foot and a half, but he was still much taller than your average Irken by a long shot.

_"I care not for your ramblings about the world you live in, Zim. I'm here to tell you that your 'mission' is hereby terminated."_

"Does it look like I care at this point, _sir? _" Zim growled. He ran his fingers dangerously over the trigger of the laser weapon in his hands, talons raking along the smooth metal, creating a screeching sound that caused the red-eyed Tallest to flinch and snarl.

_"What are you trying to prove, Zim?" _A different voice this time, higher-pitched but no less authoritative. Purple placed her hand gently on Red's shoulder and her other hand fell below where the screen could view, but it was implied she held Red's other hand within her claw.

"At this point? Nothing, I suppose. Why would I? It's not like you ever cared. I should have seen it from the start but I was deluded and insane."

_"Zim, stop. All this fighting isn't going to help."_

"Don't you _dare _try to pull that shit with me!" Zim snapped, raking his claws down the viewscreen monitor, creating lines of interference for the instant the contact was there. "_He _basically just ripped my soul apart, and you _dare _to talk to me about help?" Zim shot the laser pistol three times out of rage, at his wall. Three smoking holes were left.

_"Look, maybe you are insane, maybe you are a failed Invader but that's no reason to take it out on us!" _Purple cried, clenching her two-fingered fists. _"We haven't done anything wrong."_

"You LIED to me! You led me on for ten years, made me think I was a true Invader! Made me think I was WORTH SOMETHING TO YOU!" Zim screeched, firing off his weapon until the charge nearly ran out. His computer chimed in.

"ZIM, THE LARGE-HEADED HUMAN IS WITHIN THE PERIMETER. HE'S RINGING THE DOORBELL."

"GIR! Answer that, goddammit, I'm in the middle of a conversation!"

Gir popped up from his place on the floor (where he was playing with blocks he'd "acquired" from an orphanage), and did as his Master commanded.

_"Zim, I know what we did was wrong, but-"_

"What? Now you're going to try and justify your actions? All the years of lying and leading me around like a blind man in the dark? Is that what I am? Some blind, deluded fool?"

"Zim, what's all the yelling down here?"

"Dib." was Zim's only response.

"Yeah, it's me. What's up?"

"Get out." Zim snarled.

"Zim, what's-"

"Get out!" Zim fired off his gun in Dib's direction, missing him by inches. Dib yelped and dove for cover.

_"Listen, Zim. I'm through with pretty words. We're through here. I don't want to hear another transmission from you, you sick failure."_

_"Red!"_

_"Pur, look at him! He's a twisted fool. Knowing what he is... how could you not agree with me?"_

_"Red, please. Let's just try and talk this out with him at least." _

_"There's nothing to talk about anymore. He understands. He just needed a blunt reminder why __**we **__make the decisions around here." _

Zim growled low in his throat, an inhuman and terrifying sound that began deep in his throat and emerged just behind his teeth, a rattling, high growl of agony and suffering. "All the pain and effort I've gone through... all for nothing?"

_"We expected you to die before you even got to that filthy planet. Hell, we didn't even know there was a planet there." _

"You should have known through my performance in Impending Doom I that I'm a bit more resilient than that."

_"I'm through talking with you. We should never have allowed you to be outfitted with a PAK." _Red walked away from the viewscreen, leaving a shaking Purple behind.

_"Zim, there are some things you never knew, things we never outright lied to you about but things you simply never asked about and by association never learned. I regret Red's decision, I do! You have to understand, Zim. Everything we've done to you was all his decision. He's always been this way."_

"But why? Why does he hate me so much? Sure, I'm... kind of a fuck-up, and I... I don't have a lot to work with... I just don't understand!"

_"We're like a lot of species on that planet Earth of yours, Zim. Us Irkens are a warlike race, and in nature the runt of the litter is usually destroyed. It's a sign of weakness, Zim, and Red never could get over the fact that I had bypassed his orders and allowed you to live at all, let alone take part in Impending Doom I." _

"I see. I... think I understand now." Zim stared down at the laser pistol clutched in his talon-like claw.

_"I'm really, really sorry, Zim, but I have no choice but to go along with what Red wants. We may both be the Tallest, but he's really the one in control. He's got this... thing. Earth psychologists would probably call it some obsessive-compulsive thing. He needs control. I'm really sorry about all we've put you through, but I had no choice. Please, don't blame me for Red's shortcomings." _Purple was nearly in tears, her violet eyes swimming and clutching her arms to her chest as if that would protect her from anything Zim could throw at her.

"No need to apologize... I think I understand it all now."

_"I... don't expect you to forgive me."_

"I understand. I do forgive you. It wasn't your fault I'm the way I am. However... tell your mate to watch his back."

_". . . .Understood, Zim. Farewell." _

Zim cut the transmission.

Back aboard the Massive, Purple sunk to her knees and broke down, tears burning a path of pain down her face but unable to stop.

"Are you finished with that failure? Does he understand he's not welcome?" Red snapped.

"How could you do that? I understand he's not our best soldier but that's never stopped him before! Can't you see he's trying?"

"He's a defective! He always was. Where intelligence is supposed to be, he has only insanity and blind ambition! He's dangerous, Pur!"

"He's not a danger to anyone but himself out there. You act like he's going to just up and destroy us one day. We should have kept up the charade, it would have been so much easier!"

Red narrowed his eyes. "This conversation is over."

"No, it isn't! I'm still talking to you, dammit! Red, get back here! Red!"

In Zim's base, Dib walked gently up to the control panel, which Zim had smashed with his large fists just moments before.

"Zim? You ok?"

Zim turned and collapsed in Dib's arms, not allowing himself to cry but giving Dib a withering stare that simply showed nothing but pain. "I know, Zim. I know. Come here, it'll be alright."

"They've abandoned me. Completely. Heh... look at me. I was a failure my entire life. I should have seen this coming. Even my own genetic donor units don't want me."

"Genetic what?"

"My _parents, _Dib-human. I thought that bit was obvious. You really _are_ dense."

"Shit, Zim, the Tallest are your parents? Why was I never informed of this?"

"I never found the information to be relevant. All Irkens are genetically formed from the DNA of the current Tallest. Every Irken soldier from my generation is either my brother or my sister. Every Irken from the last generation was a child of Tallest Miyuki, and before that was the generation of Tallest Spork. It's simply normal in Irken society."

"Wait does that mean that Tak was..."

"Tak was part of Tallest Miyuki's generation, not my sister. She was closer to what you'd call my aunt, though not blood related to me. Therefore, mating with her wouldn't be taboo or anything, but I certainly still wouldn't do it. She's scary."

Dib's eye twitched. "Why does that strangely both disgust and arouse me?"

"Because she's 50 years older than I am and looks damn good for her age?" Zim supplied. Dib visibly shuddered. Zim chuckled darkly. He gave Dib a kiss on the cheek and walked away, dropping his nearly-dead plasma weapon on the floor on his way out. Dib followed suit.

"It sounds as if your mother was regretful. She sounded like she didn't want you to leave."

"She never did. She didn't even want me participating in Impending Doom I, though I believe it was for her own agenda, not my father's."

"But you got in anyway."

"And subsequently fucked it up royally, yes. That's what got me banished to Foodcourtia the first time. I escaped to prove to them that I could be a proper Invader and they sent me to this filthy ball of mud. Back then I assumed I was being given a second chance, but I see now I was wrong. Leave me alone, Dib-beast. I don't wish for you to see me in this state."

"Zim, if I can't see you at your worst, how the hell do you expect me to deserve you at your best?" Dib said sweetly. "Please, let me in. I care about you, Zim. I know this is hard for you."

"How could _you _know anything about what's hard for me? I'm an Irken Invader! I have no difficulty doing anything!" Zim cried, "I am ZIM!" Zim turned on his heel and stalked away, not allowing Dib to see the violet tears that formed in his ruby eyes. Dib shook his head.

"Zim, come on, don't do this. Don't go back to the way we were before! Don't shut me out, let me in!" Dib followed after Zim like a lost puppy, pleading with him.

"I said leave me, Dib-stink! I am... no longer worth your time and effort, so why are you still here? You should leave now, before you become another casualty of ZIM!"

"Because I am NOT leaving you to die here in misery!" Dib shouted, grabbing Zim by the wrists and shoving him roughly up against the wall. "I heard how your father spoke to you! I heard the scorn in his voice! Don't think I didn't! I know what it's like to be scorned and scoffed at by my own father, Zim! It's the story of my life! Do not shut me out now!"

Zim was stunned into silence by Dib's show of aggression and simply stayed put, his arms pinned to the wall behind him, with an angry human looking down at him.

"Zim, are you even listening to me?" Dib snapped, thrusting Zim against the wall again to get his attention. Zim growled at the treatment and his eyes brightened angrily as he shot a deadly glare at Dib.

"Get your filthy human stink-paws off of me." Spider legs shot forth from Zim's PAK and caught Dib straight in the face and chest, knocking him backwards. Dib pulled himself off the floor.

"Zim, stop this! I'm only trying to-GUK-" Zim slammed Dib in the stomach with his mechanical leg, shutting him up.

"Stop making those sounds with your meat-hole, human! I won't listen! I will find a way to exact my revenge on this filthy dirt-ball!"

"It isn't Earth you should be angry at! AGH!" Dib cried out at the leg cracked him in the throat. "I can help you get revenge on the one who really deserves it!"

"Lies! Filthy, human lies! This is all your fault, Dib-thing! I'd still have a mission if it weren't for YOU!"

"What are you-agh! Talking about Zim? I don't understand- oof!"

"All your fault... all your fault..." Zim finally broke down, tripping off his heightened mechanical pedestal and onto his side, curling up in the fetal position. "I'm a defective failure..."

"No, you're not, Zim, now get up. If you do, I promise I'll let you blow up a capital city."

Zim perked up a bit. "Really?"

"Yes, but a small one. Austin maybe. Sacramento. Boston maybe. But you have to get up."

"Why should I?"

"I'll let you use a giant laser." Dib said playfully.

Zim growled at him, but relented. "Fine. But after I blow up Boston I'm hopping on my ship and going after the Tallest. Gonna laser them too. You're going to help."

"Alright. But we'll leave your mom unharmed, ok? She seemed nice enough. Your dad, however... yeah, I'd like to shove his big stupid gauntlet things down his throat-AHH!" Zim's hand was suddenly around his throat, choking him. Then Zim let go. "Jeez, Zim, what the hell was that one for?"

"Sorry. Irken instinct keeps telling me to kill you whenever you bad-mouth the Tallest. Despite all logical reasoning, I can't stop that. You're going to have to keep it either in your own head or put up with the throttling."

"But you hate them."

"Yes, but millennia of in-bred instincts and genetic modification kind of wins out." Zim said, plucking himself off the floor and dusting off his shirt. "Not my choice."

"So when do we fly up into space and do you-know-what to you-know-who?" Dib asked carefully, hands flying to the level of his eyes to protect himself against any more possible stranglings.

"After I blow up this 'Boston' place. Where is it?"

"Let's hop in the Cruiser and I'll fly you there."


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Yep, I'm writing more chapters. I'm a horrible person. Boo hoo.

I'm actually from the Boston area so I do love to try and stick Boston into things. Problem being is usually Boston ends up leveled to the ground. I hate living here...

Don't own Zim. Wish I did, but I don't. If I did, I'd be getting royalty money and wouldn't have to work at Salvation Army.

**Chapter Two**

_"And in other news today, the great city of Boston was leveled to the ground yesterday by what experts believe is a giant laser. Everyone was evacuated safely, and there were no lives lost. However, the entire city is in ruins, crippling the economic foundation of the entire state of Massachusetts." _

"Ah ahahahahah!" Zim cackled as he and Dib flew off in the Voot Cruiser. "Excellent! I feel much better now. Thank you, Dib-human. This little act of destruction really distracted me from the fact that I'm a worthless reject."

"Zim, don't start with me. We're going to get revenge tomorrow. I just figured I'd give you a little wonton destruction before that to make you feel better."

"Yeah, but why did you have to evacuate all the smelly civilians first? I wanted to see if they smelled like cooked hot dogs."

"We'll kill them in due time. They'll suffer more this way; isn't that what you want?" Dib asked, leaning back in his seat. "I mean, now they're homeless, cold, and hungry. They have no lives left, really. They're suffering greatly."

"Ahhh, yes... Very good, Db-thing. Very clever. Zim is impressed." Zim grinned wildly. "All humans will suffer before the wrath of ZIM!" Zim screeched, throwing his arms up. Unfortunately, this took his hands off the steering mechanism, and the Cruiser dipped to the left sharply. Dib lurched forward, grabbed the joystick-mechanism, and dragged the ship back right.

"Zim, I don't care how excited you are! If you kill us both, we'll never get your revenge!"

"Right, right!" Zim grabbed the stick again. "By the way, Dib-thing, I still can't understand why you're so willing to help me get revenge on the Tallest."

"Like I said, Zim, I know what it's like to spend your entire life having scorn and hatred thrown at you by a man who's supposed to love and support you. It's been the story of my life. And though my life has been much, much shorter than yours, to me it seems like forever. And I care about you Zim, I always have. Call me deluded and a fool, I don't care. It's been ten years since you came to Earth, and in those ten years a lot has changed. Did you know I actually have four tattoos, one magnetic implant, and nine piercings right now? Three of which you can't even see?" Dib said. "I stopped caring about the fate of the Earth as soon as I realized I would never change anything. If they want to go and get themselves blown up and conquered, well that's their problem now." Dib shrugged. "I'm your typical anti-social 21-year-old."

"Excellent, that means you'll be of better use to me."

Zim landed the cruiser in his roof pad and both alien and human hopped out.

"Zim, is it alright if I grab some stuff from my apartment and shack up here for a while? I mean, really. I'm becoming late on my rent and I don't think my landlord is really approving of me right now. But I swear it's not my fault. His son was just asking for a beating, calling me crazy..." Dib mumbled the last part more to himself.

"I don't care, go ahead. I've got a bedroom upstairs I never use, you can have it." Zim shrugged nonchalantly. "Keeping up my 'I hate you and don't want anything to do with you' facade after all these years tires me, especially since it's not like I have a mission to complete anymore or anything. Plus, with you closer by, it'll be easier to run ideas by you for us to employ to defeat the Tallest." Zim said. "It's logical on many levels."

"True, true. Thanks, Zim. Mind running with me back to my place? I think it'll be safer for me if I have someone with me rather than going alone and facing my landlord with his sawed-off double-barrel shotgun of death."

"Sure. It's not like I have anything useful to do anymore." Zim sighed.

"Zim, you're becoming like me. You are becoming a depressed, empty shell of a man. Don't be like me, Zim. Do you see me? How I am depressing and bleak? You don't want to be like me." Dib said slowly so Zim could understand.

"I'm sorry, Dib-thing. I'm just having a little trouble getting over my harsh exile, you know? Myself and reality never really got along, as you could probably tell."

"Yeah. I know." Dib replied grimly. "Can we go before my landlord gets into the booze?"

"Whatever."

Dib headed out the front door, Zim following behind. Almost without notice, Zim slipped his claw around Dib's forearm in an almost nervous motion, a type of gesture that screamed, "Please stay by me on these streets." Dib smirked a little bit and pulled Zim to his hip.

"Don't worry, Zim. We'll kick your father's ass good. Did we decide what to do about your mom yet?"

"I'm still not sure. She seemed sincere, and regretful, so killing her seems like a cruel and unusual punishment. However, leaving her to rule all of Irk alone, without the mate she's been bonded to for centuries, is also cruel. I'm not sure what to do. I forgive my mother for the horrors my life has shown me. What should I do? I'm truly confused, Dib. I don't know what to do. For the first time, I'm completely and utterly blank."

Dib drew Zim into an embrace, holding the shorter Irken against his chest for comfort. Zim clutched onto his shirt desperately, staring off into space distantly. "You... just don't understand how hard this is for me, human."

"Maybe I don't. But I can at least understand that we can complete this new goal together. Come on, let's go. I still need to pick up my stuff."

It took about ten minutes to walk to Dib's broken down, dilapidated building.

"You live _here, _Dib-human? But it's so... broken."

"Yeah, but it's cheap." Dib muttered. "Come on, quick, let's get inside."

"HEY! BIG HEAD BOY! YOU GOT MY RENT YET?"

"Shit." Dib said simply. "Quick, get around back, I-SHIT!"

BANG. A large object was thrown out of the house and exploded upon impact with the asphalt; a smoke bomb, meant to confuse and disorient Dib and his 'green friend' and hopefully give the thrower the chance to finally get his rent money. "SHIT! Zim, I can't see!" Dib started coughing as the smoke hit his lungs.

"Don't worry, ocular implants are standard issue for Invaders. I can see through the fog. Take my hand, Dib-thing, and I'll bring you around to the back of the building."

Through teamwork and careful dodging of a drunk fat guy with a utility belt made of smoke bombs, Zim and Dib managed to get up to the back second-story window, where Dib's bedroom was. Zim opened the window with one spider-leg and hoisted the both of them inside, shutting the window.

Dib laid on his bedroom floor, coughing and groaning, rubbing his burning eyes. "I hate that man!" He finally burst out.

"He seems to be a rather unpleasant human. Come, Dib-thing, let us obtain your items so we can go back to my base unscathed."

Dib crawled off of the floor. "Do you have to add 'thing' to the end of my name? That's not really how humans refer to each other."

"Old habits die hard." Zim explained with a silly grin, shrugging. "Plus, I'm not human. And you're a thing. Therefore, Dib-thing."

"Shut up and help me pack."

Dib threw two suitcases in Zim's direction, who caught them deftly and placed them on Dib's old dusty futon. "There should be clothes in those drawers, and I'll get the ones in the closet. Also, I don't care how much you hate it, I'm bringing soap. I don't want to stink up the place."

"Fine... go get your... 'soap', human. Yeck." Zim stuck his tongue out. Before Dib could leave, however, Zim's PAK began shuddering and emitting sparks. "AHH!" Zim cried, falling down when a particularly nasty shock sent his legs numbly to the floor. "Dib!"

"Zim, what happened?"

"I think my... father is trying to deactivate my PAK remotely! I can't ahhh!" Zim was electrocuted nastily, leaving his skin burned and smoking.

"Take it off!"

"I'd die!"

"Maybe if it's disconnected, he'll think you're opting to kill yourself rather than face execution. Put it back on when he least expects it!"

Zim tore the PAK from his back. "Put it back on me at the last second." he growled, tossing the PAK to Dib.

On the Massive, Red growled as his link to Zim's PAK was lost. "Fuck!" he swore, smashing a metal-clad fist into the console. "I lost the connection. He must have torn off his PAK. Oh, well, he'll die without it soon enough. Stupid mistake of an Irken. I should have ensured he died before he was hatched." Red said, snarling.

Purple watched silently through a window, face stoic. But inside, she was a wreck. Red had told her in no uncertain terms that he was going to deactivate Zim and if Purple interfered, she'd be deactivated too. Red stormed away from the console, ordering a lesser drone to repair it while he was gone. "Have it done in ten minutes or else!" He threatened. The drone hopped to work.

Purple simply turned and fled, hopping into an escape pod and slamming the thruster button with her fist. The pod took off as she input a set of coordinates. _I'm coming, baby... I'm so sorry for all he's done... _


	3. Chapter 3

Note: I am soooo bad at cliffhangers! Wow! I just realized this after so many years of writing!

I still don't own Zim. If I did, I wouldn't live in this crap hole town.

**Chapter Three**

Dib slammed the PAK back onto Zim's back at the last second to save his life. Zim gasped and shot up straight. "Thank you, Dib. I think that may have stalled him for now."

"No...problem..." Dib said shakily. "Come on, I'm all packed, let's get back to your base."

"Right."

Zim led the way back, but about halfway there he saw a trail of smoke. "MY BASE!" He screeched, picking up speed. Dib followed suit, running faster until they reached the odd green home. The home was fine, but there was a smoldering escape pod crash-landed in the front yard, with a struggling Tallest fighting her way from the wreckage. "Mother!" Zim said. "Mother, are you all right?"

"Zim? Oh, thank Irk you're still alive. I thought he'd killed you. Please, you've got to stop him, I can't anymore! He's completely out of control. Being the Tallest used to be fun, but now it's a living nightmare! I almost want to saw my own legs off just to be shorter than him again. I can't take it anymore, Zim, you've got to help." Purple whimpered, accepting her son's helping hand to get up. Zim snapped his fingers.

"GIR! Come clean this wreckage and get it inside the base where we can repair it!" Gir came rocketing out of the base, grabbing the escape pod in his little nubby doggy arms, and dragging it back inside the base. "Come, Mother, we'll be safer inside the house." Dib threw his suitcases inside, came back out, and helped Zim take Purple's other arm.

It was difficult going. Purple had injured her torso and legs in the crash, causing her hover capabilities to shut down. Being a Tallest, her spindly legs couldn't support her weight well enough for her to walk on her own. It was the curse of being so tall and so thin. Zim and Dib helped Purple onto the couch while Zim ordered Gir to make some food.

"Mother, what happened?"

"He attacked me. Told me I was never to interfere again, or he'd kill me just like he would you. He then took control of the deactivation console away from the Control Brains, and modified it to work long-distance. He tried to deactivate your PAK but he lost the connection a few seconds in."

"That was when I ripped my PAK off to prevent him deactivating it."

"And I put it back on him at the last second to avoid killing Zim." Dib piped in.

"I knew I couldn't stay there anymore. I couldn't be co-ruler with a man who is so criminally insane. He hates you so much, Zim, it's caused him to go completely loony! I commandeered an escape pod and punched in your coordinates. I can only hope he doesn't deactivate me too."

Zim growled in his throat, a sound he made not out of anger but contemplation. Gir popped up with a happy squeal of "Hiii big lady!" and a plate of waffles, which Purple accepted with a small smile and a pat on Gir's head. Gir, happy for the attention, hugged himself and squealed before wandering off. Purple began eating the waffles slowly, staring off into space. Dib sat down next to her.

"It's alright, you know. We promise we'll stop him. Do you think you can help us?"

"Earth child, I'll help you in any way I can." Purple replied. "I just want to see Red stopped."

"Mother, you used to love him with all your squeedly-spooch. What happened?"

". . .Part of me still loves him, though I can't imagine why anymore. He's just so far gone now." Purple replied sadly. "I don't care if it's by your hand or mine, but he will be stopped!" Purple cried, suddenly standing up. However, her legs gave way, and she collapsed into her son's arms.

"Mother..." Zim whimpered. "Let me fix your hover belt, first. You're not going to be able to help us if you can't get off the couch."

Purple nodded and sat back down, allowing her son to take the belt from her. Sparks shot out of the un-connected ends, and the inside of the belt was generally fried. Zim peeked inside the fried belt and his face crinkled where a human's nose would be. "This is going to take me a while." He announced before wandering off in another direction, leaving Dib alone with Purple.

"So... Miss... Zim's Tallest Mom..." Dib started awkwardly. He had been left alone with the alien leader, who was currently crippled and depressed, and Dib had no real idea how to address the issue.

"My name is Purple." Purple chuckled. She then sighed. "I wonder how long it will be until my belt is fixed."

"Knowing Zim, shouldn't be too long. He's actually not bad at mechanical work. He's terrible at pretty much everything else, but mechanics? He's got that." Dib laughed, and Purple laughed along.

"This is true. Zim's got ambition, he just doesn't really have the skills to back it up. Why are you here anyway? I thought you and Zim hated each other."

"It's been ten years. I've given up all my crazy paranormal crap. Yes, I still believe in the paranormal but I'm not going around proclaiming it anymore. I'm 21. That stage of my life is over. Human lives are much shorter than Irken lives and therefore about a fourth of my life is already gone, assuming I even survive into my 80's. It's gotten old. I'm here to help Zim now. I can't stand by and watch idly while his father says horrible things and even attempts to kill him. While my father never went to murder, I certainly never received anything but scorn and disappointment from him. I don't want what happened to me to happen to Zim. I care about him."

Purple smiled and nodded. "That's good. He's always been a lonely child. I think he lashes out the way he does to cover up for that. Us Irkens may not be an overly social species, but we know what friendship is."

Suddenly loud curse words in both English and Irken came blasting from under the floor, as the opening to the lab beneath the coffee table burst open and Zim's PAK came flying up, cracking Dib off the top of the head. Zim followed it, pointing at it and cursing loudly. "He got the damn deactivator fixed!" Zim snapped. "Come downstairs in ten minutes to slap that back on me. It's an annoyance I don't need right now!" Zim continued, stalking back downstairs. Dib sat on the floor, groaning and holding his head.

"Gir, do me a favor!" Dib called, and the little green dog was there.

"YES, MASTER'S MATE." he said obediently, saluting.

"Zim's not my- oh whatever. Go buy me a bag of ice." Dib said, and Gir was off.

"Okey dokey!"

"Aaaa... ow!" Dib said, rubbing the lump on his head.

"I don't think I've ever heard so many swear words come flying out of an Irken's mouth that quickly. Deactivation must hurt a lot."

"From what I saw, it's like electrocution. Sparks are flying, mechanics are getting fried, and it's generally painful, yeah."

Gir hopped back in the door with a bag of ice, which Dib promptly applied to his head. Zim hopped upstairs, grabbed his PAK, and tossed the hover belt to Purple, who caught it mid-air and clipped it back on, and then was able to get up. She floated around freely for a few moments. "Thank you, son."

"Didn't take me as long as I thought it would. The damage was mostly on the outer layers of the device but the inner core was fine. Still, I did have to replace a lot of the components with outdated materials, seeing as how I don't have access to up-to-date galactic technology, so be careful with it, alright?" Zim instructed, a small smile on his face. He turned to Dib and took the ice pack from him, ignoring the hissing and the pain as the liquid made his skin sizzle. He inspected the damage done to Dib's skull. "I'm sorry I did that." Zim mumbled. "I didn't actually mean to hit you in the head with it."

"It's not a problem. It didn't do any permanent damage."

"I could have done the thing... what was it? A 'concussion'?"

"If I had a concussion, I'd be bleeding and throwing up everywhere. I'll be fine."

"Alright, but don't hesitate to talk to me if it bothers you more. You're helping me with my plans, it's only fair I help you too." Zim said. He handed Dib back his ice pack. "Now it's time for me to up my base's defenses so the signal from the deactivator can't get through."

Purple came floating back over. "How are we going to do that?"

"Mother, I'm going to need your help with this one. I need you to contact the planet with the highest technological marvels available that isn't Irk. Irk probably knows you're gone by now. Have we conquered Meekrob yet?"

"Invader Tenn conquered Meekrob over a year ago."

"Good. I need some Meekrob jamming technology. I'll merge it with the jamming technology my base already has and I'll create a jamming signal so powerful a Vortian tracker signal can't get through." Zim said cockily.

"Sounds like a plan!" Purple said. "I'll go do that. Where's your communication hub?"

"Down in the lab. Follow me. Dib, you too. You'll need to help me too and it'll be easier if I show you both the updated layout of my base."

Dib got off the floor, still holding the icepack to his head, and followed the two Irkens. They took the larger elevator down to the lab, a new one located in a closet. Purple still had to hunch down to fit, as Zim hadn't anticipated someone being inside it who was 8 feet tall. To fit, she had to stretch out and hunch down in a manner that caused her injured back to hurt. When the elevator came to a stop, she whimpered and got out, back and legs shaking with ache.

Dib helped her readjust her spine to the point where she could get to the communication hub. She punched in a few coordinates to get to the planet Meekrob.

A glowing package of french fries answered the call.


	4. Chapter 4

Why do I continue to torture myself with bad cliff hangers? *sigh*

I still don't own Zim. Wish I did, but I don't. If only I was that much of an insane genius.

**Chapter Four**

_"We have anticipated your call, Tallest of the Irkens. What is it you require of us?" _

"Meekrob jamming signal technology. The most powerful you've got!" Purple exclaimed frantically. Zim shouted in Irken as his PAK began to shock him again, this time harder and more painfully. "And quickly!" Purple added.

_"Hmm, yes. We heard about a disturbance with the Irken higher-class, yes. Is this the disturbance?"_

"Yes. Tallest Red and I have... fallen out. I'm staying at a remote base on Earth until the matter can be... resolved. Send us the technology, please?" Purple asked.

_"Yes, I believe we will." _The Meekrob turned to a couple fellow aliens and clicked at them, a Meekrob order to send the signal jammer. _"It will arrive at your base in three of your days. Good luck, Irken Tallest." _

The connection shut off as Zim lay on the floor, PAK-less and twitching with residual electricity. His fingertips were numb, and little blue static sparks shot off his antennae. Dib had his PAK safely far away from him. Purple knelt down next to him and placed a hand on his forehead, and quickly yanked it away when her hand was shocked, yelping. She quickly threw off her gauntlets and shook out her claw, letting her thumb spring free from it's metal prison. Being pretty useless for a Tallest, the thumb was kept inside the metal gloves, leaving their two primary fingers bared. The thumb was smaller than the other two fingers, looking stunted from generations of not being used.

"Zim?" Dib asked, kneeling down as well. "Zim, that one was harsh. I think we need to keep your PAK off for a little while."

Zim struggled to speak. "Can't... ten minutes... or die." He rasped.

"I know, I know, but this won't stop."

"Need... jamming signal..."

Dib stood up. "Computer!"

The computer made a sound that sounded almost like sighing. "VOICE AUTHORIZATION NOT RECOGNIZED."

"Can't you put up a basic jamming signal up? Just one that can stop small signals? At least if that's up, the signal will take longer to process."

"VOICE AUTHORIZATION NOT RECOGNIZED."

"Dammit, Computer-thing! I live here! This is my house now, too! Put up a goddamn signal!"

"VOICE AUTHORIZATION NOT RECOGNIZED."

Zim staggered to his feet, muscles still twitching. He collapsed onto the console, typed in a few things, and pointed at Dib again. "Used... manual voice override... gave you command."

"Computer, put up the strongest jamming signal the base can currently produce." Dib commanded.

"HUMAN DIB, DOING THAT WILL SHUT OFF THE ELECTRICITY TO THE REST OF THE BASE."

"I don't care, just do it! Who needs electricity these days? Electricity is overrated. Just put the field up so the deactivator will take longer to process the signal until we can get that Meekrob tech to upgrade with."

"VOICE AUTHORIZATION RECOGNIZED. PUTTING UP JAMMING FIELD...JAMMING FIELD COMPLETE. AUTOMATIC SHUT-DOWN IN 30 SECONDS. MANUAL OVERRIDE SWITCH IS LOCATED BENEATH THE MONITOR. 25...24...23...22...21...20..."

"Anything you need before the computer shuts down completely?" Dib asked.

"No, I'm good." Purple said. Zim shook his head.

"5...4...3...2...1...AUTOMATIC SHUT-DOWN INITIATED." The entire base went dark and quiet. Dib fished his keys out of his pocket and activated the little flashlight attached to his keychain.

"We'll take the manual way up."

"No, let's stay down here. Zim is still twitching and I'm sure he has food and supplies down here. We'll go get the package when it arrives but for now, let's get Zim's PAK back on him and wait this out." Purple suggested.

"You're right. Zim's still hurt, and I promised to see this through with him. I'm not just going to start dragging him around like a broken rag-doll. We'll stay down here until we can get the signal jammer. I think I have a plan. Zim, are you coherent?"

"Yes...I can hear you..." Zim said as he regained a bit of his speech back.

"Ok, so I was thinking, if we need to stop Tallest Red, we need a way to get up to your main flagship, right? I assume that's where he'll be."

"He'll be either aboard the flagship Massive or his personal battleship, the Colossus. I would assume the Massive." Purple supplied.

"OK, so we should, instead of integrating the Meekrob tech with Zim's base, which would only do us good here, we integrate it into the Voot Cruiser, or any other larger vessel in Earth's orbit. That way, we still have the upgraded jamming tech, but we also have a mobile base and a way to get to the Massive." Dib suggested.

"That's... an idea right there... Got some brains in that big head..." Zim rasped, laughing and painfully pulling himself off the floor.

"My head's not big!" Dib shrieked in a high-pitched tone, but quickly regained his composure. "Never mind. So is it a plan, then?"

"Yeah... we'll put the tech in my orbital base and use the escape pods as miniature cruisers. We'll equip them with both jammers and stealth tech so the Massive won't be able to detect us until it's too late. Once we're in, we just need to wait for an opening and strike."

"Right. Now I'll go upstairs to take care of the house while the electricity's being used for the field. Zim, do you want to come with me or stay down here with your mother? Ma'am, I'm not going to make you go up that uncomfortable elevator again, you're still injured from the crash."

Purple smiled inwardly at the human's show of compassion.

"I'll stay down here with Mother. I need to take care of things down here, but I'll join you as soon as I can feel my fingers again." Zim said, touching his thumbs and fingertips together.

"Alright. I'll see you guys later." Dib ran off, leaving the two Irkens in darkness.

Meanwhile, Red on the Massive was massively furious. Smashing the consoles with his fists, he swore a string of curses in Irken as the field surrounding Zim's base was dampening his signal to a mere static spark. "GET THESE FUCKING CONSOLES WORKING! MORE POWER! MORE GODDAMN POWER!" He screamed, whipping a poor worker drone into the console. "I warned that stupid bitch not to interfere and now she will die too! GET THESE CONSOLES WORKING NOW! OR IRK HELP YOU I WILL THROW EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU OUT THE GODDAMN AIRLOCK!" Red screamed mercilessly.

Zim's back muscles twitched as his PAK gave off a little spark, but it wasn't killing him like it was before. It felt tingly, like there was a signal trying to get through but couldn't. He wandered over to where he kept his own flashlights and flicked one on. He then went searching for the snacks.

"I can only hope that dampener field is enough to keep Father at bay for long enough... He never was known to give up easily, was he, Mother?"

"No... he was always very persistent. When he wanted something, he got it. And now he wants our deaths... We can't let him have this one, Zim. Our lives are at stake."

"I know, Mother. I only wish I were better equipped to handle it... or of better strategic mind." Zim said, his voice low and sad.

"You're not a failure, Zim, as much as Red wants you to believe. You weren't our greatest soldier, but you certainly weren't our worst. You have ambition, Zim, something some of our soldiers lack. You have heart and you have passion. Now all you need is to know how to utilize them properly."

"At this stage of my life, I don't think I'm capable of learning."


End file.
